Land turtles are often called tortoises. They spend the majority of their time on land. Most can be found in tropical climates because they do not tolerate cold climates.
Gopher tortoises live mainly in a sandhill habitat which has become endangered in the Southeast part of North America. Our video showed you longleaf pine restoration areas of the Tiger Bay forest. It is in this area that gopher tortoises thrive.
A gopher tortoise is considered a keystone species. This means they actually do a job that is vital to the survival of many other species. A tortoise’s burrow can house up to 300 other species, some only found in those burrows.
As housing and agricultural interests grow, the sandhill habitat decreases and are now threatening the survival of the natural way of the forest. Each summer, natural fires kept the forest floor clear and a balance of nature. When humans suppress these fires without solutions, the forest becomes unbalanced and threatens species.
In our video, we learned that the forest service does prescribed burns for this reason. They make sure the forest is kept in check for all the wildlife.
Take a walk with a tortoise in this video: Afternoon Walk
The tortoises in our video and photos are gopher tortoises. They dig holes for a home that are a vital part of the ecosystem for other animals. The burrows are about 10 feet deep and can be up to 35 feet wide underground.
The burrows are slanted so it is easy for other animals to slip in. Up to 350 animals can share a tortoise burrow over time. Worms, snails, snakes, owls, quail, opossums, foxes and a whole group of insects and invertebrates that depend upon the gopher tortoise.
Gopher tortoises can become quite large and live for over 100 years. They can adapt to different terrains such as sand near the beach, rocky areas and hard packed dirt in the woods. They are vegetarians and can eat a variety of plants.